SUNS at TRAILBLAZERS Game Thread
- Thread starter mojorizen7
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Everyone is entitled to an opinion.
Evil Ash
Henchman Supreme
Nash, Shaq, Hill, and Richardson all played the whole 3rd quarter (aside from Shaq not playing the last 12 seconds). What kind of rotation is that?
I'm pretty sure Barnes was in there for a chunk in the 3rd qtr. There were 9 players that played tonight. I'm not sure D'Antoni knew who the 4th person on his bench was/is.
I'm giving Porter some leeway considering we did just make a trade and he has to find a way to fit in the personnel
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mojorizen7
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They were like this e v e r y n i g h t.
Nash, Shaq, Hill, and Richardson all played the whole 3rd quarter (aside from Shaq not playing the last 12 seconds). What kind of rotation is that?
I think they played the entire 1st quarter too. Porter's been doing this.
The only things I'm looking for is:
- Just be healthy, and by healthy that comes with a little luck, no major injuries.
- The suns should be able to play .700 ball after the Jrich trade.
- I would hope they end up playing .750, and if we're real lucky they're almost at .800 after the all star break (after the J-rich trade).
This is certainly not out of reach and this should not be considered an exaggeration after Richardson had arrived. Let's see what they do with this backup PG search.
- Just be healthy, and by healthy that comes with a little luck, no major injuries.
- The suns should be able to play .700 ball after the Jrich trade.
- I would hope they end up playing .750, and if we're real lucky they're almost at .800 after the all star break (after the J-rich trade).
This is certainly not out of reach and this should not be considered an exaggeration after Richardson had arrived. Let's see what they do with this backup PG search.
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WTF?
Some? Who do they have thats good at defense? Of their top 7 guys, only 2 are average at D (Hill and Barnes), the rest are below average.
Huh? D'Antoni, Porter, Phill Jackson, Red Aurebach, or whomever can't suddenly take guys (like Nash) who aren't physically capable of being good defenders and turn them into that. And most coaches probably can't motivate a guy like Amare to become a great defender if he doesn't want to be.
I think thats way over simplifying things, which you're often prone to do. To say that defense is 'unimportant' to D'Antoni or any NBA coach is ridiculous. If you read ":07 Seconds or Less" or have ever listened to an interview with the guy, you know he doesn't not care about defense. Now, is it his #1 priority? No. But its an over simplification to say he just said "screw it, lets not even try to stop anyone".
Sure, and winning the lottery is important to me, but that doesn't mean its going to magically happen because I will it to.
My point is, no coach is going to turn Nash into a great defender. No coach is going to take Shaqs aging body and turn it into a well oiled machine that can actually move laterally or cover the pick and roll. Very few coaches would probably ever be able to motivate Amare into taking his defense as serious as he takes his offense.
I'm not blaming Porter or D'Antoni for the Suns porous defense, I'm blaming the roster, which I think is the only thing that makes sense. In the NBA when you have the best players, guess what, you usually win. When you have good individual defensive players, your team defense ends up being good. I don't see how this is rocket science or really debatable.
Oh but this post was contributing something of substance?
Well thats true right now, but Barnes was starting for a while and is still playing more minutes than Hill. So while he may not be the first small forward on the court, he's the primary small forward.
I agree, for the most part in the NBA a great offensive player will trump a great defensive player. No one is going to slow Kobe or MJ, or Roy the way he was on fire tonight, so c'est la vie.
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mojorizen7
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You & i are unable to communicate w/each other Hoover.
We may be able to agree on that.
We may be able to agree on that.
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Do you think every NBA Championship team played tough defense the entire 48 minutes of every game?
Actually I think the Spurs might qualify based on the criteria you present above.
While the defense was always bad, it was not horrible enough to where guards had career nights against us in every other game against us like they're doing now.
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mojorizen7
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You're right, it was always the opposing PF or true center.
cly2tw
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The critical moment was in the 3rd when Amare sat with 4th foul. We had 86-79 lead but fell behind 93-98 before Amare came back to start the 4th quarter. We should have put in LB who was great so far to give Nash a rest.
Then, Aldridge's clock beating banker at 1:25 broke us. It's just such a night that Aldridge, Blake, Roy, and Outlaw took turns to burn us no matter how we defended.
Then, Aldridge's clock beating banker at 1:25 broke us. It's just such a night that Aldridge, Blake, Roy, and Outlaw took turns to burn us no matter how we defended.
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mojorizen7
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I began reading it a few weeks ago. Its very interesting so far.....but it doesn't change my stance on DA's philosophy.
I haven't read it since I came out, but I seem to recall a few passages of DA talking defense. Like I said, it wasn't his number 1 priority, obviously, but I think the whole 'D'Antoni is only about the offense' is an over simplification of the truth.
cly2tw
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SirStefan32
Krycek, Alex Krycek
Exactly!
Black Jesus
No Talent Ass-Clown
52 for Roy is ridiculous. I'm not sure he'll ever get that again. Who was covering him? Richardson? Or did they manage to mismatch Nash EVERY possession on him?
SirStefan32
Krycek, Alex Krycek
But that's the thing- Barnes, Hill, and Richardson all took turns on him. There was no stopping him. Artest and Bowen could have guarded him and it wouldn't have made any difference.
Who the hell cares about a December close loss to a team the Suns have beaten twice already this season?
Suns bandwagon fans. That's who.
Yes, The 52 point from Roy is an embarrassment, something that will probably never happen again but this Portland team have been playing extremely well recently, i can leave with a 2-1 record.
Suns bandwagon fans. That's who.
Yes, The 52 point from Roy is an embarrassment, something that will probably never happen again but this Portland team have been playing extremely well recently, i can leave with a 2-1 record.
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Im so glad Terry Porter is here to teach everyone defense
i thought you just wanted to be entertained? have you not been entertained in the last 6 games the same way you were in the last 4 years? high scoring, no D, wins some, lose some?
Who said I hadn't? This is the first game I've been able to watch from start to finish in some time though as Ive been working 70+ hours a week, but it was certainly fun even though they did lose in the end.
The reason I typed what I did was to point out how silly the whole notion of changing a coach, but keeping a roster much the same, and expecting different results or a markedly different style is.
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I was entertained, that's for sure. This Suns team wins this type of game 8 out of 10 times. Not worried.
Arizona's Finest
Your My Favorite Mistake
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I have watched 4 -5 games this year and the Suns have looked mostly horrible in all of them (@ Houston both times against LA)
This loss I am not discouraged about in the least. It would have been nice if we could have slowed down Roy a little but he will never be that hot again and he is a good player. Plus Blake and Outlaw were hitting some absoutely ridiculous shots to keep them in the game in the 2nd and 4th quarter respectively.
But man is this offense going to be good. I am actually MUCH more excited about the offensive potential of this team then any Suns team like....ever. The inside/outside combo has to be one of the best in the league. Shaq, Amare, Barnes, and Richardson all looked in the flow and I was impressed how fluid it all looked. While the Blazers were hitting stupid shots it seemed like the Suns were just knocking down the open ones.
It would be nice if we had a perimeter stopper on defense but this is the best I have felt about the team all year.
One thing I was playing with in my head last night. Would you guys trade Nash for Outlaw, Blake, and Bayless??
I might. More and more it seems he is becoming the weak link on the team.
This loss I am not discouraged about in the least. It would have been nice if we could have slowed down Roy a little but he will never be that hot again and he is a good player. Plus Blake and Outlaw were hitting some absoutely ridiculous shots to keep them in the game in the 2nd and 4th quarter respectively.
But man is this offense going to be good. I am actually MUCH more excited about the offensive potential of this team then any Suns team like....ever. The inside/outside combo has to be one of the best in the league. Shaq, Amare, Barnes, and Richardson all looked in the flow and I was impressed how fluid it all looked. While the Blazers were hitting stupid shots it seemed like the Suns were just knocking down the open ones.
It would be nice if we had a perimeter stopper on defense but this is the best I have felt about the team all year.
One thing I was playing with in my head last night. Would you guys trade Nash for Outlaw, Blake, and Bayless??
I might. More and more it seems he is becoming the weak link on the team.
Agreed (with most of it). This was the first game this season that's been fun to watch. That was the most uplifting part of the entire game. Love having Barnes bring his game (energy-swagger) off the bench.
There was no way anyone could stop Roy. Steve Blake will NEVER shoot like that again, and Outlaw was in the zone for 10 minutes and played more aggressively in that span than I've ever seen him be. 3 crazy atypical performances and they barely beat the Suns. I like the Suns chances.
When Blake got hot in the 2nd quarter, you could see the Suns were going under the screens giving him the shot. He just made them. I'll take my chances with Steve Blake shooting 20 footers anytime.
As far as the trade possibility: no way if I had a say. Blake and Outlaw play like that once every other full moon. They went off last night. Big deal.......
I love JRich and Barnes. Great pick-ups. I'm OK with Porter, he seems to be trying different things. Rather than, "we're doing it this way for now and evermore, so get used to it."
I liked his quote where he said if the Suns play with that energy all the time, they'll be alright. I agree.
Two weeks ago, we'd have been thrilled to be that close to the Blazers with the performances they gave last night. Now we're disappointed. The Suns are better now than they were then. They're improving. I like that.....
